ide home. But it
was Purdy's name that was oftenest on his lips; it was Purdy he reviled
and implored; and when he sprang up with the idea of calling his false
friend to account, it was as much as she could do to restrain him.

She had the best of advice. Old Dr. Munce himself came two and three
times a day. Mary had always thought him a dear old man; and she felt
surer than ever of it when he stood patting her hand and bidding her
keep a good heart; for they would certainly pull her husband through.

"There aren't so many of his kind here, Mrs. Mahony, that we can afford
to lose him."

But altogether she had never known till now how many and how faithful
their friends were. Hardly, for instance, had Richard been carried in,
stiff as a log and grey as death, when good Mrs. Devine was fumbling
with the latch of the gate, an old sunbonnet perched crooked on her
head: she had run down just as she was, in the midst of shelling peas
for dinner. She begged to be allowed to help with the nursing. But Mary
felt bound to refuse. She knew how the thought of what he might have
said in his delirium would worry Richard, when he recovered his senses:
few men laid such weight as he on keeping their private thoughts
private.

Not to be done, Mrs. Devine installed herself in the kitchen to
superintend the cooking. Less for the patient, into whom at first only
liquid nourishment could be injected, than: "To see as your own
strength is kep' up, dearie." Tilly swooped down and bore off Trotty.
Delicate fruits, new-laid eggs, jellies and wines came from Agnes
Ocock; while Amelia Grindle, who had no such dainties to offer arrived
every day at three o'clock, to mind the house while Mary slept.
Archdeacon Long was also a frequent visitor, bringing not so much
spiritual as physical aid; for, as the frenzy reached its height and
Richard was maddened by the idea that a plot was brewing against his
life, a pair of strong arms were needed to hold him down. Over and
above this, letters of sympathy flowed in; grateful patients called to
ask with tears in their eyes how the doctor did; virtual strangers
stopped the servant in the street with the same query. Mary was
sometimes quite overwhelmed by the kindness people showed her.

The days that preceded the crisis were days of keenest anxiety. But
Mary never allowed her heart to fail her. For if, in the small things
of life, she was given to building on a mortal's good sense, how much
more could s